The 32 Best Movies to See This Fall

To put it lightly, this year’s summer movie season was pretty bleak. Remakes, reboots, and sequels left a sour taste in audiences’ mouths as the 2019 box office declined 2 percent compared to the same time last year. While there was the occasional surprise hit, like Yesterday or The Farewell, many offerings failed to impress.

But coming off the high of the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto film festivals, the fall movie season is already looking to right the wrongs of summer. It’s only mid-September and Jennifer Lopez is already getting as much Oscar buzz as Renée Zellweger, which can only spell good things for what’s to come. To kick things off, here’s a look at all of the comedies, dramas, blockbusters, and biopics that we’ll be talking about for the rest of the year.

Downton Abbey (September 20)

Four years after Downton Abbey went off the air, the Crawley family and their cadre of domestic servants are reuniting for a proper send-off. This time it’s 1927, and King George V and Queen Mary are expected at the Downton estate, causing a stir amongst its inhabitants. Fans of the original PBS series can expect a hearty dose of aristocratic drama, period details, and mouthy Maggie Smith.

Ad Astra (September 20)

Coming off the giddy high of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt sets his sights on the cosmos in director James Gray’s sci-fi epic. Pitt stars as an astronaut who goes into space in search of his missing father, whose doomed expedition thirty years prior now threatens the universe. With an ace supporting cast including Ruth Negga and Liv Tyler, Ad Astra offers more than enough to justify a trip into the unknown.

Judy (September 27)

Renee Zellweger takes on history’s greatest entertainer in Judy, depicting Judy Garland in her final months as she prepares for a series of shows in London. It’s been a while since Zellweger was given the chance to sink her teeth into a role worthy of her Academy Award–winning talents. And judging from the rapturous response the film has received across the festival circuit, she chose the perfect comeback vehicle to remind viewers how much we’ve missed seeing her on-screen.

Joker (October 4)

One of the most-anticipated releases of 2019 is also its most controversial. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as a pre-Batman version of the iconic comic book villain, Joker is an origin story that shows how the failed stand-up comedian turned to a life of crime in 1981 Gotham City. Phoenix is generating Oscar buzz for his chilling performance, but it’s been overshadowed by discussions over whether the film glamorizes homicidal maniacs and gun violence.

Lucy in the Sky (October 4)

After experiencing a transcendental experience in space during a lengthy mission, astronaut Lucy Cola returns to earth and starts to slowly lose touch with reality. As the directorial debut of Fargo creator Noah Hawley, its mere existence is a big win for fans of ambitious, original filmmaking. The reviews out of Toronto weren’t exactly promising, but with Natalie Portman starring and Reese Witherspoon producing, it’s hard to not be curious.

Pain and Glory (October 4)

Pedro Almodóvar sets his artistic eye on his own past with his latest Spanish-language drama Pain & Glory, which stars Antonio Banderas as a struggling director reflecting on his life. Banderas was awarded the Best Actor prize when the film bowed to rave reviews at Cannes this past May, so could that translate to Oscar success? It’s too early to tell, but don’t count out the 58-year-old for a possible first nomination.

Parasite (October 11)

The best way to enjoy Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is to go in with as little information as possible. The basic plot follows the unemployed members of the Kim family, who take an interest in the obscenely wealthy Park family and get embroiled in an unexpected battle for dominance. As the recipient of the coveted Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Parasite was a massive hit in its native South Korea and looks poised to recreate that success stateside.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (October 18)

Angelina Jolie has flirted with the idea of retiring from acting enough times that we're grateful whenever she decides to step back in front of the camera. With the actress back in the titular role opposite Elle Fanning as Aurora, the sequel to Disney’s live-action reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty villainess also introduces Michelle Pfeiffer as the queen of a neighboring kingdom.

Jojo Rabbit (October 18)

A screwball comedy set during World War II doesn’t sound all that funny, especially one centered on a main character whose imaginary friend is a zany Adolf Hitler. But Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi has built his career on out-of-the-box ideas, and Jojo Rabbit looks to follow suit; it follows a young boy in Hitler’s army who confronts his own prejudice after discovering his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic.

The Lighthouse (October 18)

After the surprise success of his first film, 2015’s The Witch, director Robert Eggers had all of Hollywood knocking at his door. He could’ve made anything he wanted, which makes it refreshing that he chose something so oppressively bleak and strange. Shot in black and white, The Lighthouse pits Willem Dafoe against Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers on a mysterious island in 1890s New England. While the claustrophobic tone might turn off some viewers, the buzz around the A24 project makes it sound as rewarding as it is challenging.

Frankie (October 25)

Greg Kinnear, Isabelle Huppert, and Marisa Tomei lead the ensemble in director Ira Sachs’s latest, about three generations of a family who have come together to celebrate its matriarch in the historic town of Sintra, Portugal. Following various members over the course of one day, Frankie is another intimate family drama from a director who has perfected the form.

Harriet (November 1)

British actress Cynthia Erivo became an overnight stage sensation in Broadway’s The Color Purple in 2015. The role would eventually win her a Tony as well as a Grammy for the cast album, and an Emmy for a morning show performance on NBC. Now Erivo is starring in Harriet, which is somehow Hollywood’s first attempt at bringing the life of civil rights crusader Harriet Tubman to the big screen. If Erivo takes home an Oscar for her role, she’ll become the youngest person to ever complete an EGOT.

Motherless Brooklyn (November 1)

As director, writer, producer, and star, Edward Norton has a lot riding on his adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel Motherless Brooklyn. Following a private investigator with Tourette’s syndrome looking into a murder in 1950s New York, the noir film also marks Norton’s first time directing a film in almost two decades. The stellar supporting cast includes Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bruce Willis, and Bobby Cannavale.

Waves (November 1)

Waves went from being a blip on the festival radar to one of the most talked-about films of the fall season seemingly overnight. After A24 dropped the mesmerizing trailer for director Trey Edward Shults’s third feature (set to Frank Ocean’s dreamy “Godspeed”), the South Florida–set melodrama became a dark-horse awards contender thanks to strong reviews out of Toronto and Telluride. Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, and Sterling K. Brown, Waves tells the story of a suburban family as they navigate “love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.”

Marriage Story (November 6)

Noah Baumbach delivers his most personal film to date with Marriage Story, inspired by his own divorce from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple going through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce. Along with Laura Dern and Ray Liotta’s supporting turns as the duo’s mouthy lawyers, Marriage Story mines Baumbach’s personal history for a 21st century take on Kramer vs. Kramer.

Doctor Sleep (November 8)

Stephen King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep (and the upcoming film adaptation) are direct sequels to The Shining, both King’s original novel and the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film. Years after the events at the Overlook Hotel, Doctor Sleep follows an adult Danny Torrance who tries to save a girl who shares his psychic powers from a cult that feeds on children who possess “the shine.” Director Mike Flanagan and star Ewan McGregor certainly have a high bar to clear, but the number of easter eggs teased in the trailer alone (REDRUM! Room 237!) will lure any fan.

Last Christmas (November 8)

A yuletide rom-com starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding from the director of Bridesmaids and written by Emma Thompson is already an appealing set-up. And that’s without even mentioning that Last Christmas is soundtracked entirely by George Michael songs, and has already inspired heated debates about whether or not the trailer hints at a bizarre plot twist.

Honey Boy (November 8)

Shia LaBeouf earned raves at Sundance for Honey Boy, the semi-autobiographical drama he wrote about his complicated relationship with his father. LaBeouf stars as the father character while Noah Jupe plays a younger, fictionalized version of LaBeouf named Otis Lort. The film traces Lort’s rise from a child star into a movie star wrestling with his demons, played in later years by Lucas Hedges.

Charlie’s Angels (November 15)

Every generation needs their own Charlie’s Angels. With Kristen Stewart and newcomers Ella Balinska and Naomi Scott as the main trio and Elizabeth Banks in the director’s chair, the reboot of the classic franchise follows a group of secret agents who carry out missions for the mysterious Charles Townsend. All while kicking ass in fabulous disguises, of course.

Ford v. Ferrari (November 15)

Christian Bale and Matt Damon star in this retelling of a true story about a team of engineers who attempt to build a new racing car that can defeat the Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. With James Mangold (Walk the Line) directing, Bale as automotive designer Carroll Shelby, and Damon as driver Ken Miles, Ford v. Ferrari is a sure bet for any gearhead.

The Report (November 15)

With Star Wars: Episode IX, Marriage Story, and The Report all coming to screens near you, Adam Driver is on a one-man mission this fall to prove his leading-man bona fides. In the latter, Driver plays Daniel J. Jones, the real-life senate staffer tasked with leading an investigation into the CIA’s torture practices following 9/11.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (November 22)

Based on the Esquire article “Can You Say...Hero?,” A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood follows a journalist played by Matthew Rhys who forms a friendship with beloved television icon Fred Rogers, played by Tom Hanks. It wouldn’t be the fall movie season without an earnest tearjerker, and the trailer alone has been enough to make even the most hardened moviegoers weepy.

Dark Waters (November 22)

With the Avengers now a thing of the past, Mark Ruffalo is playing a different type of superhero in director Todd Haynes’s new drama, ripped straight from the headlines. Dark Waters stars Ruffalo as real-life environmental defense attorney Robert Bilott, who uncovered a sinister connection between a string of deaths and chemical company DuPont.

Knives Out (November 27)

After a family gathering at a secluded mansion ends in death, a detective is brought in to investigate the potential murder of the family patriarch. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, LaKeith Stanfield, Michael Shannon, and Christopher Plummer are just a sampling of the impressive list of names Rian Johnson has assembled for this delightfully old-fashioned whodunit.

Queen & Slim (November 27)

Melina Metsoukas makes the jump to the big screen with Queen & Slim, her first feature film after years directing music videos for Beyoncé and episodes of Insecure. Starring Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith, the Lena Waithe–penned script follows a couple’s first date, which takes an unexpected turn when a policeman pulls them over. After shooting him in self-defense, the couple go on the run and try to clear their names in a film sure to spark dialogue about police brutality and racial injustice.

The Aeronauts (December 6)

It’s The Theory of Everything, but with hot air balloons. Following the Oscars success of the Stephen Hawking biopic, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones reunite for another biographical romance. Based on the life of astronomer James Glaisher, The Aeronauts follows him and pilot Amelia Wren’s attempt to make scientific discoveries in a hot air balloon while battling the elements.

Uncut Gems (December 13)

The Safdie brothers’ latest New York–set crime drama is being called gritty, loud, violent, in-your-face, and over-the-top. It’s also being hailed as one of the year’s best, with Adam Sandler’s performance—as a jewelry dealer in a race to pay off his debts—a particular point of praise. While Sandler is more commonly seen sleepwalking his way through fratty comedies, you should never underestimate him when he decides to go all in on a meaty, dramatic role (see: Punch-Drunk Love, The Meyerowitz Stories).

Bombshell (December 20)

The trailer for Bombshell is 97 seconds of unbearable suspense, mirroring the tension surrounding this cinematic takedown of former Fox News founder Roger Ailes. Charlize Theron is unrecognizable as Megyn Kelly, with Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Kate McKinnon, and Connie Britton portraying other Fox News employees who came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Ailes.

Cats (December 20)

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats was a musical phenomenon that went on to become one of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time, despite being completely deranged. But as any Cats devotee—and boy are there many—will be quick to tell you, that’s all part of the fun. The musical follows a tribe of cats known as the Jellicles (?) over the course of one night as they decide which one of them will ascend to “the Heaviside Layer” (??) and be reincarnated (???). You could try making sense of the “plot,” but why would you do that when Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, and Dame Judi Dench look like they’re having so much fun?

Little Women (December 25)

How did Greta Gerwig know exactly what we wanted for Christmas? For her take on Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel, the actor-turned-director has assembled the best ensemble since, well, 1994’s Little Women. Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen star as the rambunctious March sisters, coming of age in post-Civil War New England, with Laura Dern as their mother and Meryl Streep as their old-fashioned aunt.

1917 (December 25)

Two young British soldiers are tasked with delivering an important message across enemy lines in 1917, director Sam Mendes’s first film since leaving the James Bond franchise behind. The World War I drama boasts an impressive cast led by newcomers Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones) and George MacKay (Captain Fantastic) along with Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Madden.

Just Mercy (December 25)

Michael B. Jordan plays Bryan Stevenson in Just Mercy, based on the civil rights attorney’s experience in 1980s Alabama attempting to free condemned death-row prisoner Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx). Brie Larson also appears as a local advocate who works on the case, marking the actor’s third collaboration with director Dustin Daniel Cretton after Short Term 12 (arguably her best performance) and The Glass Castle.

Originally Appeared on Vogue